At precisely 9:00 AM, the door closes softly behind you with a click. The meeting room is brightly lit, while the morning still hangs over the city like a wet blanket. Outside, raindrops tap against the windows. Rhythmic, almost reassuring; as if the day itself still needs to wake up. Across from you sits a man who has been your colleague for years, with his always-neat hair and his laptop open like a shield. His pen fidgets with his impatience. Next to you, a woman sips her cappuccino with foam that still just shows a heart. There's some mumbling about the Wi-Fi.
Do you ever look at the people around you in a meeting? Everyone seems to be listening, nodding, taking notes. You and your colleagues behave as expected of you at that moment. Quite impressive. Put some chimpanzees together in a meeting room, with the biggest one in front of the group. You can watch for hours, but they won't behave as neatly as the average human team does. The apes will probably make noise, groom each other, and certainly won't sit quietly on a chair with both buttocks. We do. And we find it normal. Just how it is.
We often leave our bodies, our nature, at the front door
We are a recent species. Our behavior and our human society, at least from an evolutionary perspective, haven't existed for very long. And yet we stare at screens, speak in meeting rooms, and react to stimuli as if that's what we were made for. We forget our bodies. And with that, at least half of the intelligence present within us. I am Anneke Valk, as a passionate biologist I would even say it's more than half, but let's not dispute that now.
The point is: we often view our body as if it were some kind of machine. A materialistic shell in which we move, in which we perform. We plan over our biorhythm. We take breaks when the screen turns black, not when our mind asks for it. We talk about targets, but not about the cycle. We celebrate productivity, but not recovery. We ignore the timing of natural rhythms and physical signals, effectively missing opportunities.
Would you schedule an important meeting at midnight?
If you wouldn't hold a meeting at midnight, then why do you want to perform in the middle of your PMS phase?
And why do we ask someone at the peak of her energy, in the middle of her ovulation, to sit in a stuffy meeting room? If she doesn't represent a prominent role there, she could probably serve the company, her team, and herself much more by following her natural rhythm. This woman can move mountains now!
Why do we ignore these opportunities?
In recent and older history, there are countless explanations for the fact that we have started to ignore our bodies. People became "more civilized", less and less like chimpanzees, and that has, of course, also brought us a lot. But we have also forgotten a lot. Our body is not a burden; it is a source of wisdom, intuition, and rhythms that cannot be captured in digital weekly planners.
Because whoever follows their body, works more in line with life itself.
Take the monthly cycle of the female body. Four phases, four archetypes, four opportunities. In the workplace, the "peaks" are often most valued: action and results. But the cycle is more than just that phase. There are days when silence, rest, and reflection are much more welcome. Days that are difficult and cause trouble.
What happens when we ignore those days?
Then we ask people to meet at midnight. We encourage people to ignore their bodies even more than we usually do. With all the consequences that entails.
Perimenopause: the great reshuffle
Take perimenopause. A phase we collectively keep silent about, except in snarky jokes. But in reality, it is a life stage of deep transformation. Estrogen declines, but not gradually. It fluctuates like a ship on a stormy sea. One moment you feel untouchable, the next fragile as crystal.
In the brain, dopamine and serotonin are less stimulated, and grey matter undergoes a metamorphosis. The change is as powerful as during puberty or pregnancy, with the temporary result that memory processes falter and emotions can run wild. Or at least; 80% of women have these experiences. And the grey matter of the brain also recovers; but the turmoil often manifests itself in the middle of a career. Precisely when women are leading, managing teams, bringing in experience. How much talent do we lose because we don't acknowledge this phase?
We know from countless studies (McKinsey, Zenger and Folkman) that postmenopausal women are the most valued among leaders. Unfortunately, we lost her during her transition. What talent and vision are we missing now, in the Boards of Directors?
What about men?
Men also live with hormones. Their cycle is less pronounced, but no less real. Testosterone peaks in the morning and declines in the evening. As men age, that production decreases. Less muscle mass, slower recovery, more mood swings. Sometimes restlessness, sometimes listlessness.
And perhaps even more relevant: in periods of stress (hello deadline), testosterone drops faster. This leads to reduced focus, lower libido, and often even existential doubt. But where women are labeled 'hormonal', men are rarely allowed to show their hormonal vulnerability. What if they, too, were given the space to name their inner world without shame?
What should we do?
We forget our bodies. Let's feel them again. Let's acknowledge them again. How? Through these recommendations for organizations with healthy, vital teams and people:
1. Normalize the conversation. Talk about hormones like you would talk about an injury. No shame, no secrets. Invite people to name their rhythms.
2. Education for everyone. Provide training on the hormonal cycles of both women and men. Show how they influence work, energy, emotion, and communication.
3. Adapt the work, not the person. Let people structure their day based on their energy levels. Offer space for focus hours, rest moments, creative peaks.
4. Leadership with a sense of rhythm. Leaders who approach their team cyclically—who know when someone needs space or wants to flourish—create sustainable employability.
5. Redefine vitality. Vitality is not a constant state of high performance. It is alignment with the natural wave movement of life. Integrate this into HR policy, absence management, and performance reviews.
Back in that meeting room…
The heart in the cappuccino has disappeared. You look outside. The rain has now turned into a kind of silvery mist. There, between the glass and the clouds, the world moves at its own pace. And suddenly you feel it: the wonder. That you are sitting here, that your body has brought you here, with all your cells doing what they do, without you having told them what to do.
Someone asks you something. And you answer. Calmly, or with fire. But in any case, from a place that is deeper, more grounded, than the scribbles on your to-do list.
Author: Anneke Valk. Biologist, Senior University Teacher.
Copyright: Anneke Valk
